Gregory Peck Film Collection

3.87

The Gregory Peck Film Collection is a set of six movies, two of which -- To Kill A Mockingbird and {Cape Fear -- have already been issued separately on DVD. Those two pictures are represented here in their existing special editions (letterboxed at 1.85-to-1), which makes this set extremely attractive to anyone who doesn't already own them. But the other/i>/i>…
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Overview

The Gregory Peck Film Collection is a set of six movies, two of which -- To Kill A Mockingbird and {Cape Fear -- have already been issued separately on DVD. Those two pictures are represented here in their existing special editions (letterboxed at 1.85-to-1), which makes this set extremely attractive to anyone who doesn't already own them. But the other movies hace their own virtues, and issuing them in this way is probably a smart move; while Stanley Donen's Arabesque and Edward Dmytryk's Mirage are strong enough to stand on their own -- as thrillers with very different approaches to their subjects -- The World In His Arms and Captain Newman, M.D., on the other hand, probably wouldn't have sold too well in the 2008 DVD marketplace. The six movies, including the double-disc To Kill A Mockingbird, are packaged in narrow plastic cases within a larger slipcase -- as they're all single-sided, this isn't a problem as it often is in, say, the FoxVideo double-sided disc sets. Virtually all of the special features in this set are confined to To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) which, as with its free-standing special edition, comes with a commentary track, a full-length discussion with Gregory Peck, a making-of featurette entitled Fearful Symmetry, and excerpts from award ceremonies and the AFI's tribute to Peck. Cape Fear (1962), as with its separate edition, also comes with a making-of featurette. Mirage (1966) was previously available on laserdisc in a good transfer, but the digital video reproduction here is superior to anything previosuly seen on this underrated New York-shot thriller, among the last major motion Hollywood pictures done in black-and-white. The 1.85-to-1 letterboxed image frames the action perfectly and enhances the mood of creeping paranoia that sweeps over Gregory Peck's amnesiac character during the first hour of the movie -- it's only on viewing it in this edition that this reviewer recognized the change in mood that the director was aiming for, approximately 25 minutes into the movie, where Peck's character begins to realize that he doesn't really know who he is, or remember anything about himself. The audio is mastered at a healthy volume, too, which indicates that this disc is a relatively recent transfer job, not one that has been sitting on the shelf waiting for years to be released. The two-dozen chapters delineate the sometimes confusing but always rewarding action and suspense sequences extremely well. David Miller's gentle comedy/drama Captain Newman, M.D. (1963) -- which is very much a precursor to the TV series M*A*S*H in tone and outlook -- has been given a 1.85-to-1 letterboxed transfer, and looks better than it has in decades. This picture never made it to laserdisc, and the VHS version was a full-screen job done sometime in the 1980's. The movie, although shot in color, is set in a military hospital during World War II, so the color scheme is deliberately drab, and the beauty of the transfer is in capturing the muted tones, as well as Miller's careful framing of the action -- the close-ups are where they should be and in the proper proportions, and the wide-shots give us some fine and subtle camera moves, unfolding the story exactly as the director saw it. It gets only 18 chapters, but that's adequate for the story and the running time. The least well-known of the movies in this package is the Raoul Walsh-directed action-adventure yarn The World In His Arms (1952). Made in Technicolor before the widescreen era, it somewhat recalls the efforts of Cecil B. DeMille in the early 1940's, especially Reap The Wild Wind, but with some important differences. On a stylistic level, it is pure Walsh and all-action, with so much activity in the background of almost every shot, that it reminds one of those Jack Kirby splash panels in middle/late-1960's Marvel Comics, in which the action and characters seemed to spill into the adjacent panels. The story in the foreground is almost overpowered by the larger setting of Walsh's narrative, and partly this is the result of the one flaw in the movie -- Gregory Peck. Though a fine actor, Peck lacked the easy, bold charm of John Wayne, or the irony of Randolph Scott, which were called for in the lead role of this movie. He is better when he doesn't have to engage in fist-fights, and overall he is adequate, but given the presence of the extrovert Anthony Quinn in a tailor-made role, among other top-notch character players, Peck's presence isn't always a principal virtue in this film. The movie is well-preserved, incidentally, and the full-screen (1.33-to-1) transfer is rich and bright -- the 18 chapters are more than adequate, and the one distinguishing feature among the four titles here that are new to video is the presence of a not-as-well-preserved trailer. And that brings us to Stanley Donen's Arabesque (1966), a failed effort by the producer/director to recapture some of the sparkle of Charade without the presence of Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, or a Peter Stone screenplay. Apart from his fascination with Swinging London's colors and Sophia Loren's physique, the shoot didn't seem to offer much inspiration to the director, but it does look absolutely sensational on this DVD. This is the only anamorphic film in this package and the 2.35-to-1 transfer is gorgeous, while the sound has a crisp dimensionality which only makes one wish all the more that the movie itself lived up to the technical level of the DVD. A trailer would have been nice, but for those who are not expecting a rival to Charade, it will satisfy and then some. All of these movies open automatically and quickly to simple, two-layer menus that are easy-to-use and access. And while it is difficult to imagine too many people who enjoy the other films here and also appreciate The World In His Arms, but there was probably no other context in which to release that movie, and six pictures sound better than five, even if the oldest among them is the least interesting and has little in common with the others, apart from its star. (One only wishes that Columbia-TriStar would be as ambitious with the movies of Kim Novak).

Product Details

Release Date:

11/04/2008

UPC:

0025195046053

Rating:

NR

Source:

Universal Studios

Region Code:

1

Time:

10:47:00

Sales rank:

17,541

Special Features

A conversation with Gregory Peck feature-length documentary; Fearful Symmetry: The Making of To Kill a Mockingbird; The Making of Cape Fear; Academy Award best actor acceptance speech; American Film Institute Live Achievement Award; Excerpt from the academy tribute to Gregory Peck